Even if Cleveland-area unions force the city council to vote on a $15 minimum wage, or present the initiative for Cleveland residents to vote on, state law could end their hopes.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine issued an advisory opinion that concluded Ohio cities don’t have the legal justification to establish a minimum wage, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
If unions want to increase the minimum wage by 85 percent overnight, they’ll have to persuade the state legislature to do so.
“It’s an interpretation of the constitution that, for years, has caused great consternation among city officials, who have watched the state legislature chip away at the city’s home-rule authority on matters ranging from gun control to oil and gas drilling,” Leila Atassi wrote.
DeWine’s opinion also gives local politicians a way out. Cleveland Mayor Frank Johnson and City Council President Kevin Kelley, both Democrats, have opposed the increase because they expect it to push businesses to other localities in the area. They support a minimum wage hike, but not if Cleveland does it alone.
A court order or state legislative action could preserve a $15 wage hike if the city approves it and a legal battle ensues. DeWine’s opinion isn’t legally binding. The opinion, however, is a blow to minimum wage advocates.
“It is my opinion, and you are hereby advised that Article XVIII, § 3 of the Ohio Constitution does not grant a city authority to adopt an ordinance that sets the minimum wage paid by employers within the city’s boundaries at a rate that exceeds and conflicts with the statewide hourly minimum wage rate enacted by the General Assembly,” DeWine wrote.
The quirks of Ohio state law is an unexpected wall for unions leading activism for a higher minimum wage. In cities such as New York City, Seattle, and Los Angeles, state law doesn’t limit local economic decisions. Cleveland is a Democratic stronghold, like those cities, and was fertile ground for progressive economic initiatives that are much more difficult to pass on the state level.
DeWine’s opinion is good news for Cleveland business owners. Some restaurant owners testified on the minimum wage initiative, arguing that the steep increase “would devastate their already slim profit margins and would bring Cleveland’s renaissance to a screeching halt.”
For now, business owners can breathe a little easier, though the debate over a minimum wage hike is far from over in northern Ohio.
